BEIRUT/DAMASCUS: Russian lawmakers said, after hearing a report by the nation’s defense minister, that Russia’s air campaign in Syria will not end quickly, while Syrian government forces captured a strategic mountain in the country’s northwest.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in remarks before the Russian parliament that “we can’t expect the operation to end fast,” according to Vladimir Gutenev, a lawmaker who was quoted by Russian news agencies. The parliamentary session was closed to the media, but Gutenev and other lawmakers offered highlights of Shoigu’s speech.

According to Gutenev, Shoigu said that there is no quick end in sight for the Russian operation because extremist groups are getting new recruits and unspecified other nations fail to offer a strong contribution in the fight against terrorism.

Meanwhile, Syrian troops and pro-government gunmen took Jabal al-Nawbeh in Latakia early Wednesday, “after destroying the terrorists’ positions and fortifications,” an unnamed military official was quoted as saying by state TV.

Government troops have been on the offensive in different parts of the country under the cover of Russian airstrikes. Capturing the mountains of Latakia would reduce threats to the coast – a key stronghold of President Bashar Assad.The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the taking of the mountain opens the way for government forces toward the rebel-stronghold of Salma. The Observatory said government troops were backed by fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.

Groups including Al-Qaeda-affiliate the Nusra Front have taken up positions around Salma, according to the Observatory.

According to Syria analyst Fabrice Balanche, Jabal al-Nawbeh is between 500 and 800 meters high. “Its capture allows the regime to control the access to Salma from the west, as the army already controls the access point from the east,” Balanche told AFP.

In Lebanon, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV quoted one of its reporters, embedded with Syrian troops, as saying that government forces raised the Syrian flag on the mountain overlooking an array of rebel-held areas in Latakia.

Meanwhile, in the central Syrian city of Homs, a convoy of 18 trucks carrying food, medical supplies and construction material began entering the rebel-held neighborhood of Waer, according to Pawel Krzysiek, a spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Krzysiek said the convoy is organized by the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. An ICRC statement released later Wednesday said it may take several days to deliver all the aid. It said the trucks are bringing in food supplies for 40,000 people and hygiene kits for 60,000 people. In addition, medical items sufficient for 1,000 dialysis sessions for patients with severe kidney problems will also be part of the aid delivered.

Earlier this month, a deal in Waer saw a few hundred insurgents pull out of the district in return for a cease-fire and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The U.N. presided over implementation of the deal, which allowed those leaving Waer safe passage to the north. Hundreds other fighters are expected to leave Waer in the coming weeks and once the evacuation of the rebels is completed, the city of Homs will fully return to government control.

Also Wednesday, the German military said it has flown its first mission in support of the U.S.-led coalition effort against Daesh (ISIS) in Syria.

The Bundeswehr said a German tanker aircraft had refueled two fighter jets in-air as they flew missions against the extremist group, the dpa news agency reported. A German frigate has also been providing protection to the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, and German Tornado reconnaissance jets are expected to begin flying surveillance missions in January. Up to 1,200 troops are expected to be involved in the German mission, which the military said is an exclusively noncombat support deployment.